I also bought 4", 6" and 8" CAPITA legs to adjust the height of the kitchen as my girls get taller. I'm currently using the 4" legs.As noted above, the range is a hacked Aneboda night stand. I basically cut it down so it matched the height of the EFFEKTIV cabinet. The oven door is the original drawer front. I used a sliding friction bracket and chain (both from Rockler.com) to prevent the door from opening too fast and keeping it from opening past 90 degrees. The door is secured using a 12" piano hinge (hardwareandtools.com). All of the electronics, including LEDs, are hidden and cannot be reached by the kids. In the oven, there are eight red LEDs mounted in two rows under darkly tinted plexiglass (eplastics.com). These lights are powered by 4 AA batteries and are controlled by the switch above the burners. Each burner contains 4 red LEDs that are mounted underneath drain grates (NDS Grates) that I purchased from Home Depot. I also placed some clear plexiglass in the drain grates so nothing falls in between the slots. I used some metal vent caps on the underside of the burners so you can’t see the wires underneath. These drain grates are placed in 4 ¼” holes that I cut out using a hole saw bit and are then secured to the top of the night stand using mirror brackets that I painted black to match the drain grates. Each burner is controlled by switched potentiometers with radio knobs from Radio Shack. The wiring and circuit board are located in the space between the burners and the stove, and can be accessed by removing the knobs and pulling the off panel in front or by unscrewing the panel in back. All 16 LEDs in the burners are powered by another 4 AA batteries.

The sink cabinet and refrigerator are both Effektiv wall cabinets, with the latter being used on its side. I cut a hole in the top of the sink cabinet to set the TROFAST storage box and holes for the faucet (purchased on Overstock.com). I also reused some IKEA parts from the Aneboda nightstand to build a middle support and a shelf. In order to convert the frame front to a door for the refrigerator, I drilled some holes in the frame front using a forstner bit to accommodate the IKEA door hinges.

For the circuit board, I used a modular breadboard from RadioShack. I was going to attempt to make my own printed circuit board, but I didn’t have the time to do so, and my wife would’ve killed me if I spent more time on this. Anyhow, to ensure that the LEDs in the burners increased linearly in intensity, I created a pulse width modulator (PWM) circuit using a 555 chip for each burner. If anyone is interested, I can provide the details of the circuit separately (it’s not really legible right now as I created it over many late nights after teaching myself about circuits). Well, that’s about it. Oh, the total came to roughly $400 for the entire project.

Wednesday, September 2, 2009

I decided to create a "built-in" entertainment center to cap off a lengthy basement remodel initiated by a leaky pipe and the discovery of a cracked foundation wall. The modified Besta products rest on four cantilevered metal brackets that project out from the brick wall. These brackets used to support three 2 x 6 x 10 foot planks that served as a bench.

The goal of the entertainment center was to elevate the speakers and hide the components and cables. Since none of the Besta doors fit the Besta Jagra bench, I purchased sliding door hardware from Rockler.com and some 1/4" dark gray plexiglass cut to size from eplastics.com. I also purchased a pair of cabinet cooling fans that switch on when the temperature in the entertainment center rises.

The Besta Jagra bench on the left was modified to allow for greater air movement around the components, especially the receiver.

I installed heavy-duty drawer slides to create a sliding shelf for the receiver, which made making the connections to the back of the receiver a lot easier.

The Besta shelf extension in the middle was cut down to the same height as the Jagra benches, and Perfekt Nexus plinths were cut and mounted to the bottom of the entertainment center to hide cables and the metal brackets.

Last but not least, I routed a channel into the back of the Perfekt Nexus rounded deco strips and mounted them to the top of the entertainment center to hide the speaker wires and installed the dioder strip lights to the back of the t.v.